The rapid epidemic of divorce in the United States within the last 20 years has affected more than

Most people don’t ever think that they will get a divorce but the reality is that almost half of marriages will end in divorce. Divorce is not a decision that is made or taken lightly; its effects on families are damaging and not to mention long lasting. The Oxford Dictionary (2017), describes divorce as “a legal decree dissolving a marriage by a court or other competent body”. When a couple decides to separate numerous aspects of their lives are affected. Divorce affects family dynamics, physically and emotionally health, education, finances, job stability, income potential, drug use and crime. Divorce does not simply affect the lives of families; it affects America as a whole religiously, economically, and it immensely impacts the lives of the children involved.

and their world. He or she may be uprooted to a new school, city or

The scholarly article “The Long-Term Effects of Divorce on Children: A Review,” by Judith S. Wallerstein, explores various studies conducted by psychologists over a twenty year span, about the long term social and psychosocial difficulties experienced by children of divorce. The majority of the research for this particular topic discusses how the problems for these children began long before the actual separation of the parents, a theory that had not been previously researched in full until these studies. After reading the article, it is evident, that often the divorce itself is the last resort of the quarrelling parents. By waiting several years before finally breaking off the failed marriage the parents are unintentionally

If divorce is so painful, why do some children flourish academically? Why do others sound mature and logical when explaining their family situation? Why do others carry on as if nothing has happened? "The reactions a child exhibits will depend on the nature of the child (ego strength and capacity to mobilize resources), as well as his or her age and the relationship of the parents and child before, during, and after the divorce. Some of the initial reactions to divorce are similar to the reactions to the death of a loved one." It can be expected that a child going through such a traumatic event as divorce will experience a wide spectrum of emotions: sadness or depression, denial, embarrassment, anger, guilt, concern about being cared for, regression, maturity, and physical symptoms (Diamond 22-28).

Children react differently yet similarly in divorce. Every child caught up in the distress of divorce has a hard time coping with it and imagining their life without a parent. Their

Fagan, Patrick F. and Robert Rector. "The Effects of Divorce on America." World & I, vol. 15, no. 10, Oct. 2000, p. 56. EBSCOhost, fortwayne.libproxy.ivytech.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.fortwayne.libproxy.ivytech.edu.allstate.libproxy.ivytech.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=3628746&site=ehost-live&scope=site. Accessed 24 March 2017. Fagan and Rector discuss the many issues divorce can have on a child. They argue that when it comes to divorce, there are primarily negative outcomes for the child involved. Children who are victims of a divorced family have an increased chance to abuse drugs and become involved in crime. These children also have a higher rate of living in poverty, being undereducated, and becoming psychologically

However, this is not the reality of our times. McConville (2013) states 41-50% of first marriages end in divorce in the United States. The affect the divorce has on the child is dictated by how the parents maneuver through the transition. Potter (2010) states that elementary and high school students both display poorer psychosocial well-being versus children from non-divorced families (pg. 933). Adolescents face many struggles and challenges throughout this developmental stage. Being a child of divorced parents can heighten stress and anxiety leading to depressive symptoms. To avoid and or decrease this instance, adolescents affected by divorce can benefit heavily through group counseling with others facing identical

Divorce has enormous obstacles in child’s life As mentioned in the book that 50% of marriages end in divorce, with just over 60% of American children living in married couple-household (Casey foundation, 2008).these problems Start from trust, aggressive behavior, crying, short-term anxiety. We do need to do more to help those children and assess them to the right direction.

For couples with children divorce can wreak havoc on family relations. The behavior of children can change rapidly, in Cherlin (1993) it has been stated that, “children whose parents separated or divorced displayed more behavior problems and performed more poorly in school than children whose parents remained married” (para. 3). It is important to note that each child is affected differently and relationships with parents will not always be bitter (Cherlin, 1993). The personal source is a friend of many years whose parents divorced when she was very young. Her brother was also very young at the time of the divorce; each of them as male and female reacted differently to the divorce, just as it has been seen in many studies (Alex Pringle, Personal Communication, May 10,

More than 1 million children experience divorce each year. In the textbook, Child Development, Feldman (2010) reported that for some children, divorce is an improvement over living with parents who have an intact but unhappy marriage, high in conflict. In about 70 percent of divorces, the pre-divorce level of conflict is not high. Children in these households may have a more difficult time adjusting to divorce. In this paper, I will examine two articles that further investigate pre-divorce conflict and children’s adjustment.

In the last two decades divorce has increased substantially leaving couples single and families broken. Divorce is the reality for many families as there is an increase in divorce rates, cohabitation rates, and the number of children raised in step and single marital families. Divorce cannot be overlooked as it negatively affects and impacts youngsters for the rest of their lives. Although it is the decision between two parents’s children are hurt the most in the process. The concept of divorce is extremely difficult for children to understand as there are many unanswered questions and uncertainties. “Will my mom or dad remarry and who will I live with?” are concerns children express while going through divorce. Many

According to Carl Pickhardt Ph.D in Surviving Your Child’s Adolescence “divorce tends to intensify a child’s dependence and accelerates their phases of development, from been preschool children to adolescents.” As mentioned above, it is important to remember that children need their parent’s support during their lives for them to be able to surpass every trial that it encounters difficulty. In agreement with Focus On The Family, children of all ages are affected when divorce splits a family, but different age groups can react in different ways. So much is different and unknown that their lives become filled with scary questions such as “What is going to happen next?” “Who will take care of me”. With one parent moving out, I can lose the

Divorce and its effects on children are common issues that are on the rise in the world today. Divorce affects more than just the married couple. Children often bear the brunt of divorce, which makes divorce a complicated decision for most parents. Understanding the effects divorce has on a child is important to know exactly why a child acts a certain way. A divorce can affect a child psychologically, intellectually, and even behaviorally. Children can suffer physiologically from things like depression, intellectually by having trouble in school and behaviorally by having trouble in social settings. Legally, a divorce is a single event, but from a psychological standpoint, it is a complicated,

In the last 25 years, divorce has become a major issue in American society. Since the turn of the century, the divorce rate has held steady between 4.0-3.2 divorces per 1000 people per year (National Vital Statistics System, 2015). With this rising divorce rate, more children are living between parents, or in single family homes, and many of these children have been exposed to altercations between parents, as well as rough custody battles and divorce settlements. Traumatic experiences like these are highly likely to stick with children of divorce throughout their life, especially if the child is older at the time of the divorce.

Divorce is a plague that is destroying numerous families across the United States of America. Sadly, when husbands and wives divorce, the children are often caught directly in the middle. Throughout the years divorce has been becoming more and more common. In the 1920's it was a rare find to know a person whom had been divorced, today it is a rarity not to know of one who has been, or will be divorced. Divorce has numerous effects on the structures of families, and many devastating effects on the children that must experience it, although sometimes necessary, divorce radically changes the lives of adolescents and adults alike.